Residents fearful as armed man hides in North Hollywood home

Residents of a North Hollywood neighborhood where a man armed with an assault weapon was holed up in a house expressed fear and concern for their safety.

Franklin Hanock, 80, has lived on Hartsook Street for 53 years and said it is normally very quiet, except for a few incidents. He said by phone that he was aware of the police activity in his neighborhood.

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"We are prepared for things that are going on and we are armed if necessary," he said.

His neighbors, he said, should be safe if they remain inside their homes and keep their doors locked. Every street in his neighborhood is blocked with police activity.

A woman who lives on Hartsook and would not give her name said she fears for her safety. She said the suspect was barricaded inside a home across the street from her house.

"It's really scary," she said.

Helicopters were buzzing overhead and police swarmed the suburban neighborhood.

The man had earlier led police on a high-speed chase on several freeways Monday before roaming around the North Hollywood neighborhood.

SWAT officers were surrounding the home but it was unclear whether they were communicating with him. Police believe no one else is inside the home on Hartsook.

The suspect jumped out of his car around 11:30 a.m. and started running through the neighborhood off Magnolia Boulevard. He was seen walking through backyards in North Hollywood, then standing on the roof of a home.

Tamrah Land, 22, lives a flew blocks from the standoff. She was peddling her scooter to North Hollywood Park when she asked someone what was going on, looking up at the hovering helicopters at the 101 Freeway near Magnolia Boulevard.

"I'm not surprised by how the world is going. It's funny I don't feel scared. That says something about our society," she said.

April Gutierrez, 47, lives about a half mile from where police have blocked traffic at Magnolia Boulevard. She was at the North Hollywood Park with her dog moments before she heard sirens and someone on a bullhorn yell," He's got a gun!"

She said this is the first time she's seen a standoff in North Hollywood.

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"There are worse parts of L.A.," she said. "Here it's quiet, you know neighbors' names and even some of the police officers."

She moved to North Hollywood to get away from the crime in the Inland Empire where she used to live, she said.